How Does No Win No Fee Work In Personal Injury Cases?1st Aug 2017
What Are No Win No Agreements?
No Win No Fee agreements – also known as Conditional Fee Agreements – are a way of making a personal injury compensation claim without any financial risk to you the client.
You pay nothing up front. Instead you pay your personal injury solicitor a success fee only if they win your case.
This success fee is a percentage of the compensation you receive when you’ve won your claim.
How Much Could I Claim?
Compensation awards and settlements differ depending on various factors including:
- how bad your injury is
- what impact it has on your life
- whether you’re still able to work, earn a living and support your family.
Find out quickly using this claim calculator.
What Happens If I Lose My No Win No Fee Claim?
In the unlikely event of your claim being unsuccessful, there are no costs. That means you owe your solicitor nothing and there are no court costs or other fees. You pay nothing at all.
All the financial risks are taken by the solicitor – not you. So you can be certain you have a good case, because your solicitor wouldn’t proceed with a case they were unlikely to win for you.
That’s why No Win No Fee claims were introduced in 1995 – as an alternative to Legal Aid. The aim was to deter people from making spurious claims. So court time could be spent on cases with more merit.
What Percentage Do No Win No Fee Solicitors Take?
The success fee at Coles Miller is usually 25 per cent of the compensation that the client receives.
That’s the case for virtually all the personal injury and medical negligence claims our solicitors handle for our clients across the country.
In some cases – if it’s a very large compensation claim – the success fee may be lower than 25 per cent. This ensures that the victim receives more compensation than they would usually.
In very rare cases, clients agree to a higher success fee in return for us taking on a more risky claim. And like all No Win No Fee claims, we carry all the risk – not you. You do not pay any of the costs if the claim does not succeed.
With any No Win No Fee injury claim, the success fee is agreed at the beginning. So what you see, what you sign up for, is what you would pay on the successful outcome of your case.
No Win No Fee is simple, effective and reassuring. There are no hidden costs. That is why it has become such a popular and successful way of taking legal action.
Will I Have To Give Evidence In Court? Will It Be Stressful?
Most of our personal injury compensation cases never get to court – they succeed long before then.
Our solicitors are able to present such strong cases that the people in the wrong admit liability and offer compensation.
In cases like these you don’t have to stand up in court and give evidence.
Our solicitors do all the legal work so you don’t have to worry. We keep you informed at every stage of the proceedings so you know precisely what is happening. We’re with you every step of the way.
We can also negotiate on your behalf to ensure that any settlement offer is fair, compared with similar claims from around the country.
That means you’ll get the maximum amount of compensation possible for the injury you have suffered.
Our solicitors also have a good record in negotiating interim compensation to fund your treatment and care until the main sum of damages can be agreed.
What If They Don’t Settle? What If My Case Does Go To Court?
In some cases, the person or organisation we’re claiming against on your behalf may try to defend the claim against them.
But it’s not in their interests for you to appear in court as a witness. They won’t want the judge to hear you describe the terrible effects of your injuries because it strengthens your case.
And it would be foolish of the defence to cross examine you too forcefully because it’ll look as if they’re trying to bully you.
Remember – you’ll have specialist personal injury solicitors (recommended in the Legal 500 guide) fighting your corner for you.
So you have nothing to fear. It’s the perpetrators you’re suing for compensation who need to worry.
For more information contact Coles Miller Partner Adrian Cormack, Head of our Personal Injury Department, 01202 355695.
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This document is not intended to constitute and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice on any specific matter. No liability for the accuracy of the content of this document, or the consequences of relying on it, is assumed by the author. If you seek further information, please contact Managing Partner Neil Andrews at Coles Miller Solicitors LLP.
